Here’s Everyone Being Considered for the Next Batman

Batman is making his return in the sequel to Man of Steel and everyone has been buzzing about who would play the Dark Knight now that Christian Bale has left the series for good. In essence, who’s going to be our new dad?

The script hasn’t even been written yet but The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of a rumored actors. They’re hearing Zack Snyder is looking for rugged men in their late 30’s or early 40’s. So, the opposite age range of John Travolta’s casting calls. Here’s THR’s info on casting rumors.

Josh Brolin, 46 — Warner Bros. likes him a lot. He starred in the studio’s Gangster Squad, and that’s after he toplined the studio’s 2010 dud Jonah Hex. He’s also attached to star in Warners’ Quasimodo project as well as Crazy for the Storm. Plus, he already has a Frank Miller connection: He leads the cast of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming take on the Miller crime comics.

(Two sources say Brolin is the frontrunner at this stage, but a studio source dismisses the chatter, saying that the casting process hasn’t even begun.)

Ryan Gosling, 32 — Yes, Brolin’s Gangster Squad co-star appears to be in the mix. He may be younger than the rest, he may be prettier than the rest, but no one questions his acting chops.

Joe Manganiello, 36 — According to several insiders, Snyder liked him as a possible Superman for Man of Steel before settling on Henry Cavill, but one major stumbling block was the schedule that Alan Ball had him on for filming True Blood, the HBO vampire series in which Manganiello plays a werewolf.

Richard Armitage, 41 — The British actor appeared in TV’s Strike Back, but may be best-known to audiences for playing Thorin in the Hobbit movie for Warners’ New Line division. He will reprise the characters for the second and third installments.

Max Martini, 43– He cut his teeth playing tough guys on TV in shows such as Revenge, Castle and Hawaii Five-0 but won notice as a sacrificing father in Pacific Rim and will play a Navy SEAL commander in this fall’s Captain Phillips.

Matthew Goode, 35 — He’s already worked with Snyder in the director’s 2009 film Watchmen, in which he played Ozymandias.

I looked up the last 3 people in the list and, um, no. Actually, I hope none of these are serious. Especially not Ryan Gosling. He’s great but he doesn’t scream Batman. Batman should look hardened by life and not like he was born of babies’ giggles.

Though I’m sure I’m making more of an emotional response. It pretty much boils down to, “You’re not my dad!”